Finding Freedom from Clutter

By Melissa Draving

Are You Drowning in Clutter? 

Finding Freedom from Clutter will help you organize your papers, photos, stuff, and life! This book features top tips and tricks from a personal concierge and certified photo manager to help you:

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bright Communications LLC
• Release date: Feb 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9781958711569

Book preview

©2022 by Melissa Draving

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author or publisher.

Internet addresses given in this book were accurate at the time it went to press.

Printed in the United States of America

Published in Hellertown, PA

Cover design by Katelyn Kozlowski

Library of Congress Control Number 2023910364

ISBN 978-1-958711-55-2

ISBN 978-1-958711-56-9 (e-book)

2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1

For more information or to place bulk orders, contact the publisher at [e-mail].

To my sweet daughter, Maggie Lyn: I hope this book inspires you to know that you can follow and achieve your dreams.

CONTENTS

Introduction

Organizing Your Goals

Organizing Around the House

Selling, Donating, and Discarding Your Clutter

Organizing Papers, Photos, and Memorabilia

Organizing for the Holidays

Helping Other People Organize

Acknowledgments

About the Author

About Here For You Concierge

INTRODUCTION

FINDING FREEDOM FROM CLUTTER—FINALLY!

Imagine walking into a cluttered, disorganized, dusty room. What feelings do you have?

Now picture walking in the front door of a sparkling clean, orderly, minimalist space. There is a major difference in the feelings and thoughts that these two extremes produce. Too much physical clutter can take over, leaving us feeling distracted and stressed. When we have extra clutter in our homes, offices, and home offices, we can experience a cluttered mind. Increases in stress negatively impact our productivity and wellness. Clutter gets in between you and the life you want to live.

Decluttering is a task that needs to be done regularly, like laundry or bathing. You don’t organize one day, and then you’re set for life. (If only!) You’ll likely find that once you are finished organizing one area, it is time to start organizing somewhere else. Consider your new, decluttered life a work in progress.

Before we delve into decluttering specific rooms in your home and organizing particular items, I’ll share one of my favorite overall organizing strategies: One In, One Out. If you bring something into your home, get rid of something else to make room. For example, when you go clothes shopping for clothes and bring home a few new things, fill those empty shopping bags with old clothes and take them to a donation center.

Another overall mindset shift is: When you are at a store, remember all of the hard work you are putting into decluttering your space. Don’t undo that work by buying more things!

As you read this book, remember that not every tip works for every family. It's always important to take the best and leave the rest. Try to choose at least one tip from each section in this book that you can put into action immediately and wholeheartedly.

For me, committing to a minimalist mindset greatly helped me declutter. It helped me to let go of items that no longer serve me, and it encourages me to be free of unnecessary clutter.

Often, we hold onto items out of fear—the fear of loss, the fear that we might need an item sometime in the future—even if we haven’t used it in years. In order to be free from clutter, we have to explore the fears that are preventing us from letting go of the items that no longer serve us.

But it’s worth all of the work! Finding freedom from clutter helps us lead more rewarding, productive lives. If you make decluttering a habit, the process will become easier and easier.

When we liberate ourselves from the clutter in our personal and work lives, we open up space for creativity, productivity, and joy! Join me on the wonderful journey of finding freedom from clutter!

ORGANIZING YOUR GOALS

Let’s take some time to talk about goal setting. Setting goals can be such a rewarding experience. Just writing goals down gives me an energy boost and a bunch of motivation. I remember when I was first starting out in business and a coach encouraged me to write down goals that I had. I even typed up a list of six-month, one-year, three-year, and five-year goals and posted them onto my wall so that I would see them every day. And guess what? Many of these written goals came to fruition. Having clarity about what I really wanted allowed me to have a supercharged 2017, when I got married, started my business, bought a house with my husband, and even adopted a second dog. (That goal was more my husband’s, but I do love our dog Annie..

However, it is very easy to achieve one goal and not set a new one. Recently I started another program with the same coach, and I realized that this year I didn’t set any goals at all. I began to realize that this could be the cause of the recent lack of excitement and enthusiasm that I have been experiencing. After setting a few goals and quickly jotting them down on Post-it Notes, I felt immediately energized and excited about doing the work to achieve them. There is something powerful about goal-setting, and it can be a huge catalyst for change in your life. If you want to do big things in life, start by setting goals and writing them down. And take a few of my favorite tips on Goal Setting to Super Charge!

Get into the habit of achieving your goals. When you achieve a goal, it gives you a boost and satisfaction that makes you want to go after other goals in your life. This can create a snowball effect. For example, if you want to live a healthier lifestyle, meeting a goal to eat more fruits